Germany has received approval from Israel and the United States to purchase the Arrow-3 missile defense system, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
German legislators have in the past pushed for Berlin to buy Israel’s Iron Dome system to ward off aerial threats, but on Monday the head of the German Air Force, Lt.-Gen. Ingo Gerhartz, told the Post that the Arrow 3 is the most relevant system for the threats facing the European nation.
“The Iron Dome is used for short-range threats, and we have quite a capable industry back home, and we will procure systems for that,” Gerhartz said. “And for higher interceptors, we have the Patriot weapons system that we will modernize. [But] if it means [threats at a range of ] 15,000 km. [9,320 miles] and then it is exo-atmospheric, we don’t have anything, and that is why I had a close look at the Arrow 3 and we are really interested in the system.”
The purchase of the system, which has been pushed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, “starts with the approval of Israel and the United States – and they gave us the approval,” Gerhartz said. “They gave us the approval that we can cooperate on it. But, we still have to talk about the details.”
Should Germany buy the system, it would mark the first time that the Arrow 3, one of Israel’s most advanced air defense systems is capable of intercepting ballistic missiles at altitudes of over 100 km. (62 miles) and has a reported range of up to 2,400 km. (1,490 miles), has been sold to another country.
Read more: jpost
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